Getting Along Like a House on Fire
by Euregatto
Summary: Following her loss on Total Drama, Jo becomes determined to prove that her failure was just a fluke... by setting a new world record. With Brick, Mike, Zoey, and Cameron at her side, will she make her point or will she fall? BrickxJo MikexZoey
1. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

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**Prologue:** One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

* * *

"It's my turn!"

"I'll take as long as I want!"

"Get out of my way you ugly brute!"

"I'm your identical twin, idiot!"

My alarm clock didn't go off that Saturday morning – instead I was stirred awake by the screaming of my brothers as they brawled over the use of the shower. Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the curtains and burned into my eyelids. At first I rolled over and tried to ignore the commotion outside my bedroom door, but after several minutes I finally gave in to the dawn. I dropped out of bed …and landed not-so-gracefully on my face.

"You take forever! Let me go first!"

"No, _I_ got here _first_ so _I'm _going to be using it_ first!_"

I dragged myself to my feet with the corner of the bed, groaning an incoherent complaint about my idiot siblings. Eventually I settled with slamming open the door, screaming, "Will you two shut the hell up? You're ridiculous in the morning!" and then hitting one of them squarely in the back of the head with an accurately tossed football.

"OUCH! Jake started it!"

"I did not!"

I massaged my throbbing temples as a mild headache came on, "I don't care who started it, I'm ending it!"

Sighing to myself, I kicked the door shut with enough force that the frame splintered upon impact. I combed my unruly hair and settled at my desk, pulling out my list of things I really, really, really hated in the world. I could probably entertain myself for days checking off this "things I didn't want to exist on the same planet as" list: Chris McLean, butterflies, the color pink, the color orange, Chris McLean, fluffy things, cheerleaders, losing, and Chris McLean who topped the chart.

I added _Brothers _right below_ losing_.

My loss on Total Drama left me steaming long after I returned home. In fact, the first chance I got away from my family I partook in a kick-boxing class… in the end, however, I wound up with a few bruises, which was a few more than I had ever gotten out of one class. It was official: my time on the Island of Economic Dysfunction (which was 100% entirely Chris's fault) had made me soft. Like melted ice cream in the summer heat kind of soft, when I should be rock wall solid.

I simply would not have it!

"Father," I addressed the man poised on the couch in front of the TV watching reruns of the Total Drama Action episodes. "Dad, hello, are you listening to me? I need some parental advice."

He paused the episode and craned his head around to look at me, "Ah, Jo! Come sit with your old man."

I shrugged impassively and plopped down beside him. "I need to re-establish my position as number one in this world. If I can't retain the gold medal then what am I supposed to do? I refuse to settle for silver."

"Move on," he dead-panned, starting the episode again.

I crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring his brash remark, "There has to be a way that I can become the best at something and redeem my loss on Total Drama…"

"Why not ask your friends for ideas?"

"Jo doesn't have friends!" My eldest brother exclaimed from down the hall.

"Shut up Jake! That's more friends than you'll ever hope for!"

My dad seemed confused, "But I thought you made so many friends on the Island…?"

"They all hated my guts. Except for maybe the Cadet…"

"Can't blame 'em!" Jake rebounded, "If I was stuck on an island with you I'd either swim for shore or let the mutant shark eat me! Both sound less painful than putting up with you!"

"If you don't put a cork in it I'm going to put your head through a wall!"

Our father slouched in his chair, "Jake, stop antagonizing your sister before you wind up in the hospital with two broken arms and a sprained ankle again!" Silence filled the house. "Do I make myself clear, son?"

"Y-Yes, Dad…"

Jake's younger twin's voice echoed from the bathroom as he stepped out, "Hey, Jo, did you ever consider setting a world record?"

My lips pressed into a thin line as I pondered his offer. _Come to think of it I have always wanted to set a new world record… or perhaps I could start by beating an old one. Regardless. _"And how do you suggest I go about doing that, Jack?"

His head poked around the corner, "You can borrow my collection on my shelf! I have a bunch of volumes! As a matter of fact, a competition is being held at the Amber View Hotel in two weeks in front of judges! If the act passes you get yourself thrown into the Guinness Book of World Records!"

I frowned, "Hm… Dad…?"

"Do whatever you want to, you're eighteen now."

I leapt up and bolted into my room, fishing my cell phone out of its hiding spot in my dresser. If I was going to set a world record I was going to need to prepare… and preparations called for a team of experts.

* * *

A weary young boy settled on the couch, massaging antibacterial cream into his hands. He adored the smell of the aloe; it was scented with mint, and freshness. Well, if freshness could be considered a word. So far there were no complaints in the dictionary but…

His cell phone rang.

He hadn't had any use for such a foreign device until his miraculous win on Total Drama. Almost everyone exchanged phone numbers, although he had yet to really hear from anyone… Maybe it was one of them right now! Oh, he was so excited! His first conversation with his new friend! Or, er, friends, depending on who was on the other end of the line. The more the merrier!

Without even checking the caller I.D. he answered, "Hello~?"

_"I need your help."_

The excitement visibly died from his features like a sniped bird. "Oh, uh… hi Jo…"

_"Don't sound so ecstatic to hear from me again, Cameron. It's only been a month."_

"What do you want?"

_"Yeesh, excuse me Grouch. I'm forming a team and I need your smarts to be the brains of the operation."_

Cameron brightened, "R-Really? Wait, what's the team for? Because I'm not going to rob a bank if that's what you're implying."

_"Wait, what?"_

"Do you want to steal the Stargate? See, everyone thinks it's just a show, but I think it's real. You stole a bunch of gate codes, didn't you? No, they're too complex. Did you steal a time machine? I'm not sure how you pulled that off, but be careful. Creating a time paradox can have destructive results…"

_"So can pissing me off."_

"Oh, sorry, I was ranting again. Please continue."

A beat of quiet. _"I need to establish myself as number one for everyone to remember for years to come. I'm going to set a world record, and I need all the help I can get if I want to get this done in the next two weeks. So are you in or are you in?"_

He rolled his eyes, "Sounds like I don't have much of a choice… Jo, look, it's a world record not a trip for deep space exploration. You don't need me on speed dial."

_"Yes I do, you're smart! That's why you're the first person I called!" _There was a pause. _"Seriously Cam, I need your help."_

The awkward tension between them was so thick Cameron was tempted to slice through it with a knife. But his mother didn't let him near knives out of fear that he would cut himself. Come to think of it, he'd never really been cut before. Except for the time on Total Drama when that branch slapped him in the face… he wouldn't stop bleeding. And the cut wouldn't heal until Dawn used some weird herbal remedy as a medical substitute.

_"You still there?"_

Cameron sighed, "When, where, and for how long?"

He could hear her make an exclamation of triumph. "_Amber View Hotel, only one in the whole damn country! Be in the lobby at 10-o-clock AM sharp, two days. And pack for two weeks!"_ With that the phone clicked and the line went dead.

Cameron pinched the bridge of his nose. He really hated leaving the safety of his bubble. "Mom! I need to talk to you about something!"

* * *

Brick hummed a familiar tune to himself as he jogged the length the beach, dog tags slapping his chest, sand clogging the crevices of his boots. The sun beat down on his exposed flesh in pulsating waves of heat. He turned down the closest alley and sprinted to the other end of the block, grappling a street sign so he swung around and made the turn.

It was the same routine with him day in and day out: wolf down breakfast, run around town until he was on the verge of dropping, participate in whatever daily activities were planned on his parents' schedules, and then end the evening with dinner that he helped his mother prepare.

He was such a good boy. It was kind of sad, actually.

His cell rang.

The tone wasn't usual for his phone, but rather it was a voice advising against answering the call. **This is your phone speaking. You do NOT want to talk to the person calling you right now. As a matter of fact, I might just cut their call short. Seriously, don't answer. **Brick found the thing amusing.

He answered anyway. "Brick MacArthur reporting for duty!"

"_Yo, General Bricks-For-Brains!"_

The hairs on the back of his neck shot up. "Jo?"

She muffled her laugh. _"Don't act so surprised! What are you doing? You sound out of breath."_

"I was out for my morning run, ma'am." He pushed the door to his house open with his hip.

_"I didn't expect you to be so tired. Must've been a good work-out." _She paused. _"But that's not why I called. I'm in a bit of a jam… See, I just haven't been the same since losing Total Drama, and I decided that I'm going to set a world record to retain my position as number one."_

Brick passed into the kitchen, popping open the fridge, "Aw, look on the bright side Jo – you'll always be my number one." He smirked when she squeaked in surprise to his comment; he could practically feel her blush through the phone.

_"Sh-shut up you desperate sack of cadet meat! I need your help."_

He sipped his drink, humming in thought, "What could I offer you, ma'am?"

_"Hold on. JAKE GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!"_

_"Who are you talking to Jo-Jo, your boyfriend?"_

_"At least I have a friend _period_!"_ There was the sound of brief wrestling and then everything went quiet. There was a shudder from the other end of the line, _"I need someone to compete with so I know that I'm pushing myself." _Jo exhaled in defeat, _"In two days at 10 AM sharp I want you to meet me in the lobby of the Amber View Hotel. Pack for two weeks worth of adventure, maggot!" _The phone clicked off.

Brick saluted weakly, "Ma'am, yes ma'am…"

_This can't possibly end well…_


	2. One Blood, Two Blood

**Let me know what you thought of this chapter.**

**Chapter 1: **One Blood, Two Blood, Bad Blood, Blue Blood

* * *

Amber View was a four-star five-floor hotel that sat on the beachfront, allowing the ocean water to lap at its roots. The front windows were tinted to reflect the rays of the sun two-fold; it offered a work-out room, two pools and a Jacuzzi, an indoor restaurant with a quaint bar to match that was the scene for late night dancing, and a ballroom that hosted a variety of meetings.

The only thing about this hotel that really earned my attention was the sign out front announcing the arrival of the World Record judges in two weeks.

I waited out in the lobby, reclined in the leather loveseat, drumming my fingers against the arm rest. It was nine-fifty-five. _Only five more minutes… For all you know they probably won't even show up. They don't understand how much this means to you! No, wait… Chill, Jo, chill… You're getting worked up over nothing._

A hand landed on my shoulder, smashing me back down to Earth, "Jo!"

I shot up, "String Bean! I figured you weren't going to show!"

Cameron frowned, clutching the handles of his luggage bags tightly, "Uh, I'm early…"

I offered out my hand for a fist-bump, but I figured he would just end up spraining something in his wrist and withdrew my gesture before he could notice. "So, Toothpick, you ready for the greatest half-month of your life?"

"Well, actually, my time on Total Drama was pretty great, too."

I rolled my violet eyes, "Alright, this is already heading where I don't want it to go." Cameron gave me that little innocent smile of his and I quirked an eyebrow in response. _He's happier than he should be._ My attention snapped over to the automatic doors when they slid open. There was a familiar flash of green and silver; my gaze connected with a pair of familiar onyx orbs, but before I could recite a greeting I was roped into a bone-crushing hug.

"Jo!" Brick exclaimed like a little kid on Christmas morning, "How've ya been?"

There was a sharp crack as my spine realigned itself under the immense pressure. "I… Can't… _Breathe!_"

He flushed, setting me down, "Sorry ma'am…"

I caught my breath, a sense of relief washing over me, "Whew… Ow, wow! That actually did wonders on my back! Anyway," I straightened up and droned on, "now that you both are here to assist in my conquest to achieving first"—

Cameron scoffed, "More like achieving nothing."

—"let's set up some guidelines." Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Cameron flipping out a notebook and pen. _That's no surprise. _"One – touching needs to remain at a minimum, _Cadet_."

Brick gave me a smile almost as innocent as Bubble Boy's.

_Mom was right; boys are imbeciles. _I slapped my hand over my face, "Two – I may keel over from exhaustion. Do NOT call an ambulance unless I beg for it."

Cameron raised his hand, "What if you're unconscious?"

"Then try to wake me up first, duh. You're supposed to be the smart one here, String Bean!" Cameron hid his blush in the collar of his sweater. I folded my hands behind my back and started pacing, "And finally three – because this record means the world to me you will not fraternize with the enemy or risk sabotage."

Brick arched the left side of his mono-brow, "Uh, what enemy?"

I whirled around to face him, "Did I say you could speak, Cadet?"

He snapped a salute, "No ma'am, my apologizes ma'am!"

I grunted, "That's what I thought. You can't ever let your guard down on a mission, Private. When you're at your most unsuspecting moment the enemy will swoop in like a squadron of hawks and they will **destroy** you!"

Cameron swallowed the lump in his throat.

I returned to my steady pacing, "Now, those have been the guidelines. Let's check in to our room and figure out a plan for which record I'm either going to set or break!" The duo tailed me like puppies over to the reception counter. "I reserved a master suite for three."

The elderly receptionist pulled up a list on his computer screen, "Name and credit card please."

"Jolie Thompson." I handed him my card and he swiped it.

After multiple clicks through the monitor he handed it back with three accompanying key cards, "Your room number is 413. If you take the elevator to the fourth floor it is down the hall on your left, and then your first door to the right. Enjoy your stay."

I tucked my credit card away and wafted my hand at the boys, "Come on, the day's-a-wastin'!"

We shuffled onto the elevator and Cameron struggled with mustering up enough strength to push in the button labeled **4.** I ended up doing it for him.

Brick leaned towards me, "Jolie?"

"Shut the hell up, Dampy."

"Y-Yes ma'am…"

The lift dropped us off on our floor and we moved first to the left, then to the right. The door was labeled 413, so I gave the boys their separate cards and used mine to unlock the room. I kicked the door open, flicking on the light with my elbow.

"This is awesome!" Cameron exclaimed, "I've never been in such a fancy place before!"

The suite was its own apartment – it consisted of two king sized beds with sheets as red as the carpeting and curtains, had a flat screen TV on the dresser, a mini fridge, and a beautiful view of the ocean from the balcony. I dropped my bags on the bed closest to the window, "I'm obviously not going to be sharing a bed with either of you maggots, so this side is _all _mine!"

Brick dove onto the covers of the bed that would be his and practically sank into the mattress. "These beds are really soft!"

Cameron pressed his face up against the sliding glass doors, "Jo, Jo, Jo! Look how beautiful the ocean is!"

_People's admiration for a chunk of water really amazes me some times_. "Gorgeous."

"I've never seen the ocean so close before! Can we go to the beach later? Please?" He lunged at me, clinging to my leg, "Please with sugar on top? Pretty _please_?"

I glanced over at Brick who just shrugged passively. "_Sigh… _Fine, fine…"

Cameron shot up, "Thanks Jo, you're the best, I don't care what anyone says!" I flushed at his comment. He picked a dresser and didn't even hesitate to throw his clothes into the drawers – although he still managed to keep them neat and organized.

I was grappled at the waist, "Hey, what's the big idea?"

Brick pumped his unoccupied fist into the air, "And the soldier catches his enemy off guard! Will she make a come-back or is he too powerful for her to handle?" Before I could even react he tossed me onto the bedding.

I grabbed a pillow, "GRENADE! Get down!" I chucked the comforter at him but he dove behind the opposing bed before it could make contact. Instead it nailed Cameron and floored him with ease. "Quickly Cadet, man down! Man down!"

Brick leapt out from his hiding place and somersaulted over to Cameron, "Are you alright Soldier?"

"What was in that pillow, ROCKS?"

From out of the blue my backpack careened over the edge of the bed and landed on me, contents spilling over the floor. A copy of the World Records slid to Brick's feet. He scratched the back of his head, picking it up, "Oh, yeah. So, what's the record you need to beat and, or, set?"

"I don't know yet," I groaned, massaging the welt growing on my brow. I rummaged through my backpack, "I borrowed some of my brother's books before I left. Here, you search through that one. Cameron, you get this one." I handed him a best-of-the-best kind of issue. Finally I found the 2011 issue and settled at the foot of the bed, skimming the colorful assortment of pages. "Let me know when you boys find something worth beating."

Brick saluted, "Sir yes sir!" He plopped down in the chair in the corner, shoving his nose into the pages of the hard-cover copy.

I studied him by peering over the top of my book, but after a moment I maxed out my care-o-meter and delved into the first chapter.

Several minutes later Cameron got up from his spot on the floor, "Here you go, Jo, how about this? The fastest piggy back race was over one mile – one point sixty-one kilometers to be exact – in twelve minutes and forty-seven seconds."

I arched an eyebrow, "And who exactly will have the luxury of using me as their new pony?"

"You can carry me. I'm lightweight!"

"Understatement of the year, String Bean."

Brick glanced up from his book, "Uhm, Cam, didn't you mention having motion sickness or something? Wouldn't that be a poor decision for this kind of challenge?"

Bubble Boy's expression fell faster than a skydiver. "…Oh, yeah…" He suddenly perked up, and I could practically see the light bulb blinking over his head, "I've got it! I don't have to be the one Jo has to carry around, but I know someone who would make the perfect candidate!"

I winced, "Please don't tell me you have a twin."

"No, I'm an only child…" Cam hung his head in defeat, "It can get really lonely in my house sometimes…" He finally beamed up at me like his years of solitude were some kind of major feat. "Anyway, that's not the topic. The only other lightweight people I know are Dawn, Zoey, and Mike."

"Red, Pointy, and Creepy Girl?" I thought back to the oddballs from the Island. "That's actually not a bad idea, Shrimp Cake."

He grinned in triumph.

_Dawn would probably watch me while I slept in attempt to read my aura… and Mike would shift personalities too often for my taste. Zoey it is._ I flipped out my cell phone and scrolled through the contacts until I hit the bottom; my finger jabbed the send button.

_"…Hello?"_

"Yo, Red!"

_"Hi, Jo! Oh my gosh, I can't believe you called me! This is so exciting, I mean, does this make us official friends?"_

I furrowed my brow, "Uh, sure Red, whatever floats your boat. But listen, I'm here with Brick and Cameron-"

_"Hi boys!"_

"Red, pay attention to me! This is important." I caught her whimper from the other end of the line. "I'm on a mission to prove that I can be number one by setting a world record. Brick and Cameron are already on my team; I would like your help as well."

_"That sounds cool Jo, but uh… I can't help you."_

"Why not?"

_"Erm, well, I…"_ She laughed nervously, probably figuring that I was about to blow a casket if she didn't tread carefully. _"See, Mike and I are… on vacation… At the Amber View Hotel. Did you ever hear of it? It's really, really nice! We're both big fans of the Guinness World Records, so we wanted to see the competition that's being hosted in the ballroom! It's in two weeks though, but that's not all we came to see! Like, the town has a lot to offer and stuff…"_

My eyebrow twitched, "How long have you been there?"

_"We just arrived! We're in the lobby checking in now!"_

I shut my phone and practically threw myself at the door, "Quickly maggots, to the lobby!"

Brick jumped up behind me, "MA'AM YES MA'AM!" He chucked a startled Cameron onto his shoulder and followed me down the hall to the staircase. We sped down three steps at a time until we barreled out into the lobby, almost instantly spotting the familiar flash of crimson hair.

Mike and Zoey were accepting two room keys when we appeared between them and the reception counter. Zoey allowed a smile to grace her previously confused features, "Jo! Brick! Cam! I didn't know you guys were here, too!"

Brick dropped Cameron on the unevenly tiled floor and followed through with a salute, "Our mission is to help Jo become number one again!"

Mike cocked his head, "Number one? How do you plan on doing that?"

I crossed my arms over my chest, "By setting a world record, duh."

Zoey squealed like a fan girl at a convention, "That must mean you're going to partake in the competition! That's so cool!"

Cameron lifted his arm to earn our attention, "Can someone help me up please? I think I dislocated something important…" I grabbed a handful of his sweater and whisked him to his feet, setting him down just as gently. "Oh, thanks Jo."

"Don't mention it. Ever." I returned to the conversation at hand. "We've decided to try and beat the piggy-back record of one point sixty-one kilometers in twelve minutes and forty-seven seconds. Shortstuff thought that if I could carry you, Red, I have a shot at breaking the record."

Zoey gave me her characteristic "that's incredibly odd" look, "Oh, uhm… Well, I guess that could be fun. Let us settle in first and I'll think it over."

"Which room are you gonna stay in?"

"420."

"That's down the hall from us!" Cameron announced; I almost hit him for stating the obvious, but managed to suppress my anger with a sarcastic eye roll. He noticed and glanced sheepishly at his feet. "Just saying…"

The corner of my lips twisted into a smirk, "Tell you what, you two unpack and meet us in 413 at three this afternoon."

Mike gave a mock salute, "Yes ma'am. Come on Z, let's go." Zoey hooked her arm into the crook of his elbow and waved good-bye as he led her off to the elevators.

Brick jingled his dog tags, "Well that was convenient. What do you plan on doing until three, Jo?"

I shoved my hands into my sweater pocket, "I haven't done my morning work out so… who's up for a few laps around the pool?"

"I can't swim."

"It's called the shallow end for a reason, Toothpick."

Brick slung his arm around Cameron's neck, nearly snapping the smaller boy's head off like a stick, "I'll teach you how to swim, Soldier! There's nothing to it!" The jarhead didn't realize that his headlock was suffocating the opposing teen.

I punched Brick in the side – "Ouch, my kidney!" – and in turn his grip on Cameron came loose.

"Hey, Sergeant Idiot, easy on the kid. Can't teach him anything if he doesn't have a head."

"Yes ma'am, sorry…"

And suddenly, as if karma couldn't hate me any more, a familiar voice echoed out from the opposing end of the lobby. "Yo, Jo my main man! Lightnin' didn't know you were in town!"

"You have _got_ to be kidding me…"


	3. Mind in Motion

**Please review, they make my day ^_^ Some JOCK for those fans out there. I actually had to cut this chapter in half XD It's taking me WAY too long to move this story along. But that's OK because it's fun to write. Oddly enough this chapter is VERY IMPORTANT for the set-up of the next two chapters.**

**Chapter 2: **Mind in Motion

* * *

I raked my fingers through my burnished blonde hair as I glared up at the ceiling, burning a hole into Heaven itself, "What have I done to deserve such a punishment?"

Lightning sauntered up to us with a cocky smirk plastered on his face, "Ah, and it seems you're accompanied by Pipsqueak and Lieutenant Leaks-a-Lot. Lightning didn't expect to see you trio of losers here." If Brick hadn't put me in a head-lock I would've punched Lightning right in his Sha-swag. "Ha! Lightning's only kidding. Seriously, what's up?"

"The sky," Cameron uttered with a feasible roll of his eyes.

Brick released me after concluding that I wasn't going to bury Lightning alive (not that anyone was going to miss him enough to notice his spontaneous absence) and cleared his throat to ease the tension, "We… are, uh, here to watch the World Record competition in two weeks. Are you going to attend as well?"

"Tread carefully, Cadet," I quipped, "engaging in an intelligent conversation with him could break the laws of physics and potentially damage his brain cells."

"Lightning doesn't know what a physic is," the jock scoffed, "Lightning don't care 'bout no World Record competition, either. He could beat everything in the whole dang book if he wanted too, but he won't 'cause he's got bigger fish to fry. _Sha_-_pow_!" His use of accurate analogy actually surprised me considering the fact he clearly hadn't passed his vocabulary classes.

"Bigger fish?" Cameron questioned incredulously, "What are you talking about?"

Lightning jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and we followed the imaginary arrow to a group of boys messing around with each other as they entered the lobby with the stealth of stampeding elephants. "Lightning's carryin' his team to victory! He's the best quarterback they ever had! _Sha-blam_!" He socked the air with his fists. "Lightning's gonna win a flawless game against our all-time rivals next week! Until then the team's gonna hang in this hotel!"

I wedged my hands into my front pocket, "Dandy, so I assume I'll be kept up until two in the morning enduring the sound of whooping and hollering until I stab out my ears with the sharpest object at my disposal?"

"Nah, Lightning's team needs sleep! The best we'll do is probably one-thirty!"

"Well aren't I stuck between a rock and a hard place?"

Lightning furrowed his brow in sudden confusion, "Jo man, you ain't stuck nowhere! What've you been smokin'? 'Cause Lightning don't want nothin' to do with it!"

My anger point was boiling over and I felt my teeth grind together like clockwork. Cameron's squeak of surprise earned our attention, repressing my rage for a minute longer, "Wait, Lightning, does that mean you're attending college?"

If he said yes I was going to leave Canada—forget the competition, forget first place, I would _run for my life._

"Lightning didn't even apply for college yet!" He shot back almost defensively, "But he could totally get accepted into college! That's for smart people, y'know! S-M-… Is there an 'h' in there somewhere?" We shook our heads. "Never mind."

"So you were held back in high school for another year?" I mused, expecting a rage-quit out of the opposing teen.

Instead he scolded me like _I _was the dumb one, "Lightning's home town has a junior Football team, _sha-duh_! He was practically the first one to sign up!"

I exchanged a desperate glance with Brick before returning my attention to the other jock. I had had enough. "Look, _sha-dumbass_, as much as I resent talking to you we have somewhere we need to be right now, so good-day and hopefully we don't cross paths ever again."

Before he could rebound a snappy, poorly thought out comeback several of his teammates snatched him up and sat him on a throne composed of their shoulders. "Lightning Strike!" They exclaimed in unison. "Lightning Strike! Lightning Strike!"

_They gave him a pet name, _I told myself, although my blank expression seemed to contradict the amusement of the thought.

The blondest of the boys spoke up over the rest, "Hey Lightning, who're these guys?"

I felt a familiar pang of anger clawing its way up my chest. Lightning, oblivious to the sour expression I was currently wearing, decided to jump at the chance to ignite the fuse and set me off like a stack of dynamite – assuming the dynamite was filed into crates by the truckload. "They're Lightning's biggest fans!"

**_"YOU SON OF A-!"_**

Brick threw me onto his shoulder before I could strangle the self-absorbed jock with my bare hands. "Well, would you look at the time? I've had a wonderful chat but it seems we've gotta go! See ya Lightning!" He grabbed Cameron by the hood and towed him off, speeding towards the elevator.

Lightning waggled his fingers at me, his smirk still spread from ear to ear. "_Sha-bye_!"

I returned the gesture with a middle finger.

* * *

"I'm so freaking pissed!"

"Yes, I know, that's all you've been declaring since we left the lobby."

"Who does Lightning think he is? He's a self-absorbed, self-_obsessed_ **imbecile** whose below average intelligence only allows for him to speak in the third person! He must've been dropped on his head _on purpose_! Oh, that's just great, _now I'm stating the obvious!_"

"Come on Jo, you need to let it go before your rage boils all the water out of the pool."

I shot Brick a glare cold enough to freeze hell over… twice. "Don't you_ dare_ give me your two cents, Cadet! I could have easily put that punk in his place, but _nooo_, a certain _someone_ decided to carry me off like a damsel in distress! That was embarrassing!"

"Not as embarrassing as ending up on the news for murder," Cameron said matter-of-factly, squishing the head of his duck inner tube, "Brick was just postponing the inevitable." The boy floated along the edge of the pool – which was WAY larger than I what had seen in the brochure, and also located in the roof under skylights – and I shoved him away with my foot. "Wait, NO JO! This is the deep end!"

"You have a tube Half Pint," I told him with a tone as thick as ice, "You'll be fine."

He clutched the duck head for dear life, "Wh-what if the float pops? I mean, back on the Island the tubes seemed to be poked with holes a lot, so I didn't go swimming very much. B mostly carried me on his shoulders. Not that I'm complaining about my lack of gracefulness in water, or B, because B's a great guy! Although he didn't talk much, which was kind of a let down because I never knew if he was actually listening to me-"

I jammed my forefingers into my ears, "Enough with the rambling already, Kickstand!"

He rebounded off the opposing ledge of the pool, drifting back towards me. "Sorry Jo, force of habit. The only person who ever really tolerated the rambling was my mom, and since she was around almost all the time she had the patience of an angel. Actually, I now question why I was so lonely. Mom should've been a teacher though, I was home schooled and taught very well. She does a great job-"

I rolled my eyes, "String Bean, _rambling_."

His cheeks flared up, "Sorry."

"Where does your father fall into the picture?" Brick asked with a quizzical lift of his eyebrow.

"He… uh… I don't know." Cameron stared dismally into the surface of the water, his rippling image frowning right back at him, "He walked out of Mom's life just after I was born. I never really had a chance to get to know him – on the other hand, however, I still don't think I want to."

Brick pushed off the ledge – where he had been poised next to me for a majority of the hour with his legs swirling the chlorinated water about – and dropped into the pool, careful not to splash either of us, "I'm sorry about that, Cam. Never would've asked if I had known."

A smile with all the brightness of a Christmas holiday replaced the scowl on Cameron's face, "Well, logically Brick, it would've been a poor social decision."

_Nothing kills that kid's self-esteem._

I executed my typical eye-roll and slipped into the pool, "I don't know about you guys, but all this sappy getting-to-know-you junk is boring me. I'm gonna do some laps." I kicked off the edge, gliding past them like a sea lion. My lack of caring derived from the possibility that I would never get a firm hold of Lightning's neck, and with that being my main anger point the rage seeped into the back of my mind, nuzzling into the darkest corners of my subconscious.

Several trips around the Olympic-sized installment later I resurfaced to find Cameron and Brick in the shallow end – Cameron was having an anxiety attack over the fact that Brick had taken his duck off, and bypassers were herding their kids away from the duo.

"Come on Cam, just steady your breathing."

"I can't! I'm going to drown! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!"

"You're not going to die!"

"Yes I am! Do you know how deep this end is? FOUR FEET! I'm only four-nine!"

I moved over to them, clawing my bangs out of my face, "What in the world are you idiots doing? You're creating a commotion worthy of the paparazzi."

Cameron leapt into my arms almost comically, clinging to my neck like a five-year-old, "He's crazy, Jo! He's trying to get me killed!" I took a moment to see where this situation fell into my emotional capacity, but in the end I didn't care enough to respond and dropped Toothpick into the water.

Brick saluted, most likely in hopes that I wouldn't hold his head underwater, "I'm just teaching him to swim, ma'am."

Cameron resurfaced, sputtering, "It was so dark down there! I couldn't anything!"

I slapped the back of his head, effectively calming him down, "Hey, String Bean, lighten up, will ya? Don't get your panties in a twist." When I turned my attention back to Brick he was …nowhere to be found. _Dandy, now he's probably drowning too._ A sudden force hit me with from below with such power I was flung into the air; I met the water back-first, sending a shot of pain along my spine. Body tingling, I kicked up to the surface.

Brick and Cameron exchanged high-fives (which we would find out later was enough to actually sprain something in Toothpick's wrist). "Nice shot, Brickster."

I flipped my bangs out of my eyes, "What in the hell was that for?"

"I'm just having a bit of fun," the Cadet replied, although I'm sure he was mentally penning a will just in case, "You're always so tense."

"Only ninety-seven percent of the time!" I shot back, splashing them, "I'm tons of fun when I want to be!"

Cameron crossed his arms, quirking an eyebrow in unison with his smirk, "You, _fun_? You're way too uptight for that. I bet your muscles are so notched from stress a masseuse would break their fingers on your back."

I sneered, "I'm about to break _your_ fingers. I am _not_ uptight, I'm just observant and very, _very_ cautious. AND I AM TOTALLY A FUN PERSON!"

"Are not. Name the last amusement park you went to."

I bit my lower lip in thought, "Well, I don't remember the name of it but I was nine. And amusement parks aren't fun! Kickboxing is fun!"

"I think we're on totally separate pages," Brick remarked just barely loud enough for me to hear but ignore. "Alright, I'm going to make you a bet, and don't you dare reject the offer because I know you can't say no." I folded my arms back against my chest. "Tomorrow night we're going to have dinner and go dancing. If you really are as fun as you believe yourself to be that shouldn't be a big deal."

"For the love of all things as useless as Lightning in this world, Cadet, _why_ **dancing**?"

"What, can't dance?"

"NO! Do I _look _like the kind of person who can do a waltz or a damn foxtrot?" My voice was steadily increasing, which rarely happened because normally, at this point, I would've killed them both with whatever was at my disposal. I gestured to myself like I was a painting on display at an auction.

"How about the tango?" Cameron mused.

"Now you're just pushing all the wrong buttons, Munchkin. Besides," I glared at him through slotted eyes, "you've been a bubble for your entire life. Can _you_ dance?"

He faltered, "The saddest part is that I can, actually, not that I'm very good at it though. Mom danced with me frequently; she always said that one day I would get married and an inability to dance wouldn't help me in the outside world."

I snorted, "She kept you in a _bubble_ your _entire_ life. I don't think she _wanted_ you in the _outside world_." I made sure to quote the last two word of my statement with my fingers. "Sounds to me like your existence is just one **big** contradiction."

Cameron grabbed his duck float as it came back to him and slipped it over his head, "Yeah, well, at least I can dance." He settled with drifting around the poolside again.

For a moment I pondered his word choice – in the fragments of my memories still lingering in the back of my brain I found a single image: my mother, she could dance, very well in fact. She and Dad always moved to the beat of their wedding song, not that I could really remember what that was, but I knew they loved it. I recalled one time when she let me – how old was I, seven? – replace Dad for the moment and made an attempt to teach me how to waltz (I think that's what it was anyway).

To my immediate surprised Brick took my hand in his, slipping his other one around my waist, "You can't be that bad, can you?"

My first reaction was to recoil, to break free of his grip, but I ignored the impulse with ease. I even humored him by resting my arm on his shoulder. "Trust me, I am."

"How would you know when you haven't tried?" He spun me around swiftly, bodies floating delicately in the water, our feet skimming the rough edged surface of the pool floor. "I doubt you're really as awful as you make yourself out to be."

We spun again – he led for the most part, I really just let him drag me in his wake – and I caught Cameron sniggering behind his hand from across the pool. "What are you laughing at, Garden Gnome? My fist will put you in your place!"

Cameron raised his hands defensively.

I slipped out of Brick's grasp and stroked over to the ladder, "You know what? I'm out of here! Dancing is the least of my concerns right now!"

Without another word of exchange I grabbed my towel and key card from the lawn chair cradling all of our stuff; I stormed off to the lift, rode it down to the fourth floor, and stomped back to my room.

_I am fun. Tons of fun! Our definition of fun just differes... _Still, that wasn't my concern. What mattered was setting a record, and _nothing _was going to ruin that for me.

No sooner had I dried off and dressed did the clock above my bed strike three, thick black hands gliding over the numbers with curved serifs.

There was a knock.

_I can taste victory already._


	4. Crumbling Brick Walls

**Please review, they make my day ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews so far, you guys are so awesome!**

_Euregatto: OK, I can totally explain the lateness of this chapter!_  
_Cameron: I will explain for you, because you're just going to come up with some excuse about Trent being a Yip Yip Martian._  
_Euregatto: No, he's a Yip Yip. He even does the little flail like them too!  
__Cameron: Anyway, instead of being the dedicated Jock fan you claim to be you decided to write a lengthy oneshot for Foodtheftshipping/Duncney._  
_Euregatto: I have other pairings I'm a fan of! IS THAT SO WRONG?  
Trent: Yip yipyipyipyipyipyip!  
Cameron: ...On with the story._

_Becuase I know someone will ask: TDI, Episode 3 awake-a-ton, Trent does the little "Yip yip yip" thing to Justin. I instantly thought of the Yip Yip Martians from Sesame Street._

* * *

**Chapter 3: **Crumbling Brick Walls

* * *

"Although it wasn't much time, I did think over your offer."

"And you're going to help me, right?" I perched on the edge of my bed, calculated violet gaze spearing Zoey and Mike with a stare that would make any lion cower in fear. Zoey bit her thumb nail to substitute for the nervous tick she sometimes did back on the Island. "Look, don't feel obliged, I can always find something else to do."

Zoey exhaled her held breath, "No, no, I'll help I just…"

It was long after three at this point, not that I really cared. Neither of the boys had returned yet – I believe that one of them had seriously drowned, none too surprisingly, but Mike disproved my comment by mentioning the lack of sirens in the background – and Zoey was taking her sweet time trying to explain the thoughts racing through her mind. Sometimes I wished I possessed Dawn's abilities of "reading people's aura" for lack of a better term; that way I could tell what Red was stumbling over.

"Spit it out, I'm getting old here."

Zoey glanced at Mike with pleading eyes, "I'm afraid my wording won't come out correctly."

"What Zoey is _trying_ to say," Mike interjected, "is that we know this competition must mean the world to you, but if Zoey's your partner then her name will be listed _with_ yours in the records. Is that acceptable?"

That statement hadn't once crossed my mind. Panicking only slightly – my ego was swelled far beyond the boundaries of ever allowing me to falter – I retrieved my backpack from across the room, rifling through its contents. I removed the issue Cameron had found the record in and skimmed the pages until I came across the article about the piggy-back racing. "No, it gives credit to the guy who carried his friend. Said friend was only mentioned for being there."

Zoey exhaled with what I thought was sheer relief, "That's great! Then let's do this uh… _thing_?"

I made a mental note to leave anti-climatic situations to her. "Alright, well, if you've finally settled your internal conflicts can we get started? AND WHERE IN ALL SEVERAL LEVELS OF HELL ARE BRICK-HEAD AND TOOTHPICK?"

As if on cue the duo burst into the room; Brick slammed the door closed with enough force to nearly bend the hinges. He faced me abruptly, saluting, "Reporting for duty, Ma'am!" He was heaving almost as heavily as Cameron, their backs against the door like it was supposed to sudden burst open if they didn't keep it still.

"You're late Cadet!" I snapped. Cameron dove behind me with all the grace of a startled squirrel (and I'm NOT talking about the mutated squirrels crawling around Camp Wawanakwa. That's an experience I'd rather forget… as soon as this record breaking was over, of course). "And what do you think_ you're_ doing?"

"Lightning tried throwing an octopus at me!" He exclaimed, his voice muffled from burying his face in my sweater. His grip was slack – which definitely meant he was straining to hold on for dear life – and he was shaking like a wet poodle.

_Oh, Lightning. Of course he would._

My upper lip arched on one side, "Where did he – you know what, I'm not going to ask because frankly I don't care."

Mike groaned, "Lightning's here too? What'd you do, Jo, invite the entire Island?"

I snarled back (Brick would later tell me I had a talent for impersonating wild cats), "Hey, I didn't _invite_ String Bean and Brickhouse"—"Actually, ma'am, you made it sound like I didn't have a choice…"—"I made an _offer_. Also, you and Mike showed up on your own damn free-will! And it wasn't my idea to bring that self-conceited imbecile Lightning here, he appeared with his dumb-as-doornails friends!"

"I believe you Jo," Zoey cooed, "You two didn't exactly leave off on the best of terms with each other…"

"I don't ever leave off on the best of terms with _anyone,_ just in case you didn't notice!"

Cameron huddled closer to my back, attracted to the warmth I was radiating like a freaking sun. "Uh, Jo? Could you, maybe, _please_ stop yelling at everyone before the hotel kicks us out for causing a ruckus…?"

I threw my arms up. "I'll create as much ruckus as I damn well please!"

Brick sighed. "I'm going to assume that you're still pissed at Lightning. I think you should just jog it off like you normally do."

"Speaking of jogs, get your ass dressed!" I reached behind me, grabbing Cameron by the hem of his shorts, and chucked him in Brick's direction. "You too Shrimp Cake! Time's a wastin', I can't afford to sit around doing nothing all week!"

Zoey leaned towards Mike, "This won't end well, will it?"

"No… No it will not…"

They sat there awkwardly until we were all ready to go.

* * *

We established a meeting point at the side walk bench across the street from the hotel.

"Alright, here!" Cameron gave me a town map, his highlights traveling along streets in an almost perfect square. "According to my calculations running these roads will bring you back here. That's a half mile, so you'll need to go around twice to complete a full mile." He held up a stop watch that looked fresh, right out of the package. "This is Brick's stop watch. Mike's going to time how long it takes you to get half way, which I'll record, then all the way, which I'll also record. Brick's gonna run with you."

Brick saluted to acknowledge Cameron's statement.

Cameron droned on, "Now, first you're going to lap around so we can see how fast you are, then we'll work on timing you while carrying Zoey. Get ready and wait for my call."

I took my position. "Alright guys, I'm trusting you on this!" Brick lined up next to me, his expression blank, his shoulders tense. I glimpsed at the map in my hand, the crinkled edges bending against the wind. _Well, here goes nothing._

Cameron shouted out, "GO!"

No one could accurately describe the emotions behind doing something you loved. Running made me feel free – at one time I felt like I could escape everything: my problems, my family, my school and all the terrible things that awaited for me wherever I went. I couldn't be judged, only admired. Now, I ran for the sheer pleasure of the race. The adrenaline rush was immense; my heart slammed into the cage of my chest at a steady rhythm.

Yeah, seems kind of cliché, doesn't it? Scary ol' Jo being poetic like a sissy.

I cleared the mile without so much as breaking a sweat at a full sprint (leaving Brick in the dust of course), something of which I hadn't done since Total Drama. Mike hit the pause button on his stop watch, flashing the time to Cameron who scratched it down onto his notepad. I turned my attention to them, the burst of joy in my chest diminishing gradually, "How was that?"

"Seven minutes; ten seconds," Cameron answered.

I groaned, "Dammit I can do better! Time me Pointy!"

Zoey touched my shoulder, "Easy Jo, just focus on the most important thing right now. If you can complete a mile without wearing yourself out you can _definitely_ complete a mile with me hitching a ride on your back."

Brick skid to a halt beside me, his breaths quickened but not heavy. "I got lost for a minute there!"

"Likely excuse Cadet!" I turned back to Cameron. "I want to run again!"

"You're not running again, you need to-"

"YES I AM RUNNING AGAIN."

Cameron adjusted his glasses so they sat higher up on the bridge of his nose, "But Jo you just ran! You can't wear yourself out before we even start the second part of the test!"

"I'll time myself if I have to!"

"Listen to me dammit!" Cameron jabbed his finger up at me, his sudden use of mildly course language startling Mike and Zoey. "Jo, this is a _test_. We can make improvements once we have something to work off of, OK? I promise you, you can run across Canada and back again if it makes you happy and I will not stop you, but right now we need to focus on what really matters. So please, just listen to me for once. I'm the brains; I know what I'm doing."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Kid, you're lucky I don't floor you." He flinched when I pat his head, probably expecting to get hit. "Alright, I trust you." Behind me, Brick exhaled with relief. He was expecting me to hit String Bean, too, apparently. I glanced over to Zoey. "Come on Red, you heard him!"

I stepped up to where I started before and felt Zoey hop onto my back; my arms hooked under her legs, adjusting her comfortably as her arms wrapped around my neck. On the bright side, she was lighter than I was anticipating. "Whatever you do, don't drop me! I don't want to end up brain damaged!"

The first thing that popped into mind was Scott's condition that last time I saw him.

"You'll be fine, Red," I reassured her. "I'll make sure to warn you ahead of time so you can brace for impact, OK?"

"That's not funny!"

"I think it's hilarious."

Mike reset the time and nodded over to Cameron. String Bean's shout echoed out again, "GO!"

I had never run while carrying someone before – my logic was that, if you're so weak that you end up on the floor, don't expect me to help you. You'll just slow me down – and it wasn't that bad. Zoey was practically a sack of feathers; she clutched my shoulders, keeping close so she wouldn't bounce too much.

Sprinting with her onboard, though, posed a-whole-nother problem: her feather weight was rapidly turning into concrete weight.

Brick sped by us with ease by the time we reached the half way mark. My thighs were sore, my arms on fire, my chest ignited with pain. I set Zoey down on the bench – "Jo, what's wrong?" – and dashed to the garbage can nearby, hurling my stomach contents into the black bag below.

Cameron's hand massaged my stiffening back, "You alright there, Jo?"

"I'm done for today…" I uttered, spitting the taste from my mouth, "That was not as easy as it looked. And I need to brush my teeth."

Cameron signaled Brick to return to the group and I limped over to join them. "Alright, Jo's done for the day."

"So what do we do now?" Mike asked, glancing at me for guidance.

"What, you want me to hold your hand? Go do whatever the hell you want to, just be ready to do this again at eight tomorrow. I'm out!" I made a move to leave but Brick grabbed me from behind and lifted me into his arms bridal style. "WHAT THE-?"

How was I even supposed to _respond_?

"I'll carry you back, ma'am!" Brick announced as if I didn't catch his drift the first time around. He carried me back into the hotel and all the way to our room (on the way I prayed that Lightning wouldn't nearby, otherwise someone was going to die). On the way out of the elevator my head bonked against his chest – it was like slamming my skull into a brick wall. This guy was very, very aptly named.

Cameron unlocked the door to allow us entry.

"There you go Jo!" Brick chirped, setting me at the foot of the bathroom, "Stretch a little, it'll do you some good."

"Tell me something I don't know, Cadet." I bowed almost sarcastically. "Thank you for your assistance, my dear gentlemen, but the princess must now retire to her washroom." Before they could reply I slammed the door shut. I hunched over the sink and proceeded to scrub my mouth with three helpings of minty-fresh toothpaste – you know, the type that burns your mouth like wildfire.

The door clicked open. "You've been in here a while, Jo. Are you alright?"

I refused to stray from brushing with enough ferocity that I spat blood with each rinse, so I just didn't answer.

Brick approached me and settled his hand on my shoulder. "You're going to seriously injure your gums like that."

I rinsed with water and dabbed my lips dry, glaring at him with the same intensity I always did, especially back on the Island. "I don't care what I injure, Brickhouse. Pain comes with the territory. That's the rule I grew up living by."

He scoffed. "You're so tense."

"Hey, kills the mood." I paused, finally noticing a strange scent lingering in the room (other than bleach and soap) that got the feminine side of me tingling. It was interesting, attractive, kind of odd, and sexy. I mean, it was hard to describe. The smell reminded me of something my father would wear when he and Mom went out on their monthly dates, or when he was heading off to an important business meeting. Occasionally my brothers would wear it too, which I assumed was their best attempt at trying to be like him.

And then there was me. I couldn't wear cologne, I could only manage perfume, and I always liked the one my mother wore. It was light and airy. She smelled like a flower… Ah, that was it, my favorite scent in the entire world – lavender. She had gotten me some bottles, aware that I enjoyed the smell but never admitted it. Contrary to popular belief I took pleasure in wearing that perfume, almost as much I prided myself by wearing recently earned gold medals.

"Jo?"

Fingers snapped in my face, bringing be back to Earth. I had been staring at the floor, captured in another one of my memory trances. I bit the inside of my cheek. "Are you wearing _cologne_?"

He flushed, "Only a little… I had it lying around and wanted to see if it suited me. Sorry, does it bother you?"

I feigned a smile, just for him. "I can't lie, it's spicy."

"She's like it!" He exclaimed, rushing out, "She likes it Cam! I told you she would!"

I shuffled out of the bathroom over to my bed. Cameron and Brick were now debating about what channels to watch on "the biggest flat-screen TV they had ever seen", although it was nothing compared to the monster eating up a good portion of my living room back home. "I'm gonna take a nap," I told them quietly, flexing my arms over my head, "Don't wake me up unless the building's on fire."

"OK!" Cameron agreed, although he seemed more focused on flipping through channels than anything else.

I kicked off my shoes and curled up under the covers, darkness claiming my world as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

_"Can't beat the heat, stay out of the sun!"_

_I recognized the voice almost instantly, although the name of the owner seemed to slip my mind for the moment. At first I felt like I was floating, suspended in water with no use for breathing. Then my fingers rubbed against the familiar crevices of notched wood, I picked up on the scent of pine and timber, and I could hear more voices reverberating off the abyssal darkness around me. The blackness ebbed into vague lines of black and white, then blurred into a colorful image like smeared pastels. Finally the objects solidified and I knew, regretfully, where I was._

_Camp Wawanakwa. _

_Great._

_"That's funny! Hey, Jo, are you alright?"_

_I glanced up at my teammates – the Mutant Maggots – staring at me intently. In the deepest part of my mind I knew I was having a weird flashback, although some key details were missing: when I gazed around I noticed the mess hall was lacking the Toxic Rats. I returned my attention to Zoey when she scooted in my direction and waved her hand in my face, "Jo! Hey! Yoo-hoo, anybody home?"_

_"I'm tired go away."_

_I had actually meant to say, "Yes, I'm fine, why?" but it seemed that I lacked self-control. Entirely. I was numb, not quite sure if what I was experiencing was a fragment of my memories or if I had just gone completely insane._

_"Why are you tired? You didn't even do anything!" There was an uncharacteristic harshness underlining Zoey's tone._

_My eyebrow quirked. "What?"_

_"You're just going to blame exhaustion for why you cost us the challenge, aren't you?" Cameron hissed, his glare unsettling. "You're definitely going home, Jo. You were weak, pathetic, you made me look like an Olympian! There's no way you're getting out of this!"_

_I let panic set in. "What the hell are you idiots talking about?"_

_"You're the idiot!" Mike snapped and I shot up from the table. "We're voting you off for being the worst member on the team! You only slowed us down! Why are you even here, you can't compete at our level! You just vote for yourself!"_

_Anne-Maria cackled. "What a loser! She's so ugly! Under all the make-up there's just a soft little girl who will never get a real boyfriend! She's useless so she's instantly not worth the time or effort we've put into her."_

_Panic flipped into realization. It wasn't a memory, it was a projection – everything I had said, all those angry emotions that I took out on my team – of me in the form of the people who didn't deserve the torment I had put them through. _Shit, Brain, couldn't you have just thrown an epiphany my way?

_"Guys, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel this way…" And then I remembered that I didn't care. I wasn't supposed to care. That's why I put everyone else down, put them beneath me, made them suffer, because I simply, blatantly, didn't care, and they were in my way._

_ Mike, I was a bit more physical with him at certain points._

_Cameron, I called him weak and pathetic, made him feel like the mutant ants I stepped on for amusement._

_Zoey, I wasn't quite nice but I wasn't the Wicked Witch of the West to her, either._

_Anne-Maria, I never even liked her, but I never truly thought she was ugly._

_That left… I glanced at Brick for help. He simply shrugged. "Don't look at me for help, Jo. You're traitorous. All you ever do is to impress people you know don't care about you. You're such a fraidy cat, a real pansy, you don't deserve the dogtags swinging around your neck. Why'd I even bother with you? You know I'm just going to leave you behind because you slow me down."_

_Brick, now that absolutely crushed me._

_"I SAID I WAS SORRY!"_

_I forged for other words, something to make them understand, to let them forgive me, but came up with nothing. My legs seemed to move by themselves, shifting me towards the other end of the room. I backed into someone instead of the much anticipated wall; my reaction was to spin, calling out in fear, only to see Chris. He smirked deviously, "I guess that means Jo's voted out! Later, loser!"_

_The floor disappeared beneath me and I plummeted helplessly into the abyss below._

I awoke with a start, gasping for breath, shaking like an autumn leaf.

It was dark in the room now save for the light that had been left on in the bathroom to ease Brick's worries (and here I had thought he truly conquered his fears). Slowly I adjusted to reality, but I felt the fear still welling inside the cavity of my chest. My heart slammed against my ribs, threatening to explode if I didn't let it have its freedom.

Cameron was in my face suddenly, gripping my shoulders, "Jo! Calm down, it's just me. It's just String Bean." For a moment I struggled to disassociate him from the dream, but giving up seemed so much easier. "Jo, it's alright. You were just having a nightmare. You'll be-_OOF_!" I snatched him up into a hug, burying my face into the softened material of his shirt. And then, without so much as an ounce of shame, I proceeded to do something I hadn't done in a long, _long_ time…

I cried.


	5. Freefall

**Please review, they make my day ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews so far, you guys are so awesome! An extra early and long chapter!**

_Euregatto: I'm going to hopefully be updating quickly, because there's going to be a few weeks where I won't have any time to write.  
Cameron: Don't work yourself to death. How long did it take you to write this chapter?  
Euregatto: Only a few hours. I was on a roll!  
Cameron: And what's the deal with the angst in this chapter?  
Euregatto: Pfft, what, you really think I can write a story without breaking the characters first?  
Cameron: You've done it before...  
Euregatto: Eh, just not this time around._

* * *

**Chapter 4: **Freefall

* * *

When I awoke again the first thing I noticed was the mild headache pulsating in the front of my brain.

Dim, bluish light filtered in through the shades that concealed the doors the patio, casting a purple hue across the vermillion carpeting; I stirred only slightly – which was one inch too much. My muscles ignited like fire, tensing into even thicker knots. _Shit, forgot to stretch._ At first the headache prevented my thought process from deciphering my current position.

And the first thing to come to my mind was, of course, the nightmare.

_That was awful…_

Then memory fragments fell into place like puzzle pieces until the picture was clear to me. I was using Cameron's stomach as a pillow, he was using an actual comforter as it should be used, and his shirt was damp beneath my cheek where I had been sobbing before. His heart was drumming steadily in his chest, sending pulses into my ear; his organs squished around like jelly, which actually made me wonder if I had flattened them.

I sat up, wincing against the pain shooting up my sides.

Across the room Brick was face-down, fast asleep, his arm hanging limply over the edge of the bed. The clock (the military one he always used. That thing was going to wake up the whole freaking hotel!) on the nightstand between the beds read seven-fifty, so at least I had a little time before we had to train. Or practice. Or whatever they wanted to call it.

"You're awake?"

I glanced down at Cameron. He turned on his side to face me, eyes wandering slightly because I knew he couldn't see me without his glasses. I remembered that he had witnessed me cry – and dammit, I DID NOT CRY. I was Jo, I was strong; I was as tough as a nail hammered into a steel bar! And yet, he had comforted me when I allowed myself to break, no judgment or ridicule or sarcastic, snide remark. No, just a soothing "It's alright Jo, don't cry" until I blacked out again.

It was something I wasn't very used to.

"No, I'm dead."

He forced himself into an upright position, plucking up his glasses from the nightstand. "Are you feeling better?"

I wanted to tell him the truth, believe me I did – but spilling my guts was just another invitation for someone to exploit my weaknesses. Instinct wouldn't allow it. Impulsiveness definitely objected it. "I'm a train wreck. Get back to me when you actually care."

I shot up, grabbing my bag from corner as I stormed towards the bathroom. Cameron cut me off. "Wait, Jo! Don't throw up your walls like that. Please, tell me what's wrong."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I pushed him out of my path, but he was persistent.

He blocked me again. "Jo, please!"

I went around with a growl of displeasure.

"I said stop!" He grabbed me by my wrist – but that's what set me off. I whirled around, back-handing him in the face with enough force to knock his glasses to the floor, however he remained upright.

"Don't you _dare_ try to fill my head with lies like I'm some kind of idiot!"

He shuddered, his fingers touching his swelling wound. For a moment, and only a moment, I felt a little guilty.

"But I… I'm not lying to you… Why won't you listen to me? I only want to help!"

I scoffed. "Cameron, you've been in a bubble your entire life. You know nothing about the misery life can really bring. Misery to you is just a definition you read in a pocket dictionary. You wouldn't understand the first thing about me! You think I choose to be like this? You think I enjoy having no friends? No! I just can't afford to get hurt again." Well, there I said it. No going back now.

He bent down and picked up his glasses, examining them. One lens was scratched, but besides that there wasn't a single damaging detail. Finally I made it into the threshold of the bathroom, my anger clashing with my guilt overpowering my self-control.

"You know Jo," Cameron remarked, his gaze no longer locked on the floor but rather on my back, "You're wrong. Being in a bubble doesn't make a person any less likely to experience the pains in the world. My father walked out on us and my mother almost lost custody of me because she couldn't financially afford to have me living with her; it didn't help that he didn't pay child support. I felt like I was the only thing left in her life keeping her from losing her sanity – she was far too self-destructive – and even then I only seemed to make things worse. That weight was like a burden, and sometimes that burden was far too much for me to handle. But hey, I'm just a bubble boy, right? So clearly I have no clue as to what I'm talking about and we should all just focus on feeling sorry for Jo!"

I faced him, my expression falling flat. "I never wanted anyone's sympathy. Not from you, not from Brickhouse over there, and certainly not from own family! And someone like that doesn't deserve to be your father. It's a good thing he walked out, you'd probably forget what it was like to smile."

He glared up at me with a nasty, maybe even intimidating, scowl. "And what do you know about _smiling_? When was the last time you ever gave _anyone_ a genuine sign of affection?"

My grip found the edge of the door. "When I told my mother I loved her twenty minutes before she died."

The solid surface was slammed shut in his face with a deafening _BANG, _flooding the room with absolute silence.

* * *

Brick awoke when the _bang _reverberated off the walls.

His first reflex was to duck into the opening between the beds, grab the nearest weapon – which was, unfortunately, his alarm clock – and glance around for danger. It was a procedure he had fixated in his brain from Boot Camp, when they would train the cadets to be ready for any situation. This time, however, the tension in the room was so thick you could cut it with a knife (or slice it epically with a sword, your pick) and there weren't any screams or audio-generated gun shots.

Cameron was poised at the bathroom door, his shoulders shaking, his head lowered almost as if in shame.

Brick stepped up to him, drumming his fingers together nervously. "Are you alright?"

"Jo and I were fighting."

"We haven't even been here a full twenty-four hours. Can't you two get along?" Cameron sighed, cradling his swollen cheek in his palm; Brick noticed almost instantly. "Jeez, physical fighting? That's uncalled for…"

"No, no, it's alright. It doesn't hurt." He shrugged impassively. "I'm trying to understand her Brick, but I'm having such a hard time. She was this way on the Island, too. I wanted to be her friend, I wanted to be her ally, I admired her for her strength and courage but… she rejected me. Not just me but everyone. She wouldn't open up to us the way she could – should – have. Trying to read her mind is as impossible as lifting a four-pound weight."

Brick pat Cameron's shoulder. "See, that's the thing about Jo: most people look for compassion, she doesn't. Most people want to open themselves up and allow others to love them, she doesn't."

Cameron furrowed his brow. "Yeah, that's kinda obvious. But she's hurting, Brick, she's in pain and I feel so helpless. She thinks I don't care, but I really, _really_ do care. I want to be a shoulder to lean on… even if I'm not capable of supporting that weight, but that's why I'm speaking metaphorically. I want to do something, _anything_, to make her understand that I won't hurt her and that there's nothing she should be afraid of!"

Brick nodded curtly. "Yeah, Jo's skilled at blocking people out…"

On the other side of the door I was changed into clean clothes and now brushing out my disheveled hair. Their conversation echoed through the paper-thin barrier between us, bringing both a smile and a frown to my face at random intervals.

There was a rapping of knuckles. "Jo… It's me, Brick. Can I come in?"

"Not unless you want to lose your manhood!" I snapped, switching on the faucet. I splashed icy water across the face, stinging my exposed flesh.

There was yet another knock. "How about now?"

I rolled my eyes and switched off the faucet before I dabbed my face dry with a towel, tossing it back onto the rack beneath the sink. Instead of answering I swung my bag over my shoulder and opened the door, giving both of them an irritated, yet disinterested, glare. I moved over to the other side of them room, dropped the bag down, and returned to Brick. "Stop watch."

He pointed to the item of choice hanging out on the nightstand. I snatched it up and brushed by them, clicking open the door to the room.

Cameron caught me by the back of my sweater. "Wait, Jo! Come on, please, I'm dying over here! Just talk to me!"

"I'm _not_ going to talk to you; I'm not going to talk to _anyone._" I jerked from his grasp and stomped out into the hallway. "My emotional problems are my own! Now I'm going out for a run, don't expect me to be back any time soon!"

"JO!" Cameron called as I stormed down the hall. "Running away from your problems won't solve anything!"

"It's gotten me by for years!" I shot back, pausing for a moment. "I am _not_ your friend, so quit expecting me to come skipping into your arms through a field of daisies asking for your compassion! So if running is what gets me where I need to be, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'LL DO!"

Brick raised his hands, "Alright, you two need to chill out! Can't you just talk this over like adults?"

"Obviously not!" Cameron answered bluntly. "Jo throws a tantrum over everything! She's the one who needs to calm down! Jeez, Jo, don't be so inane, I'm just trying to help! Maybe venting every once in a while will cure you of your issues!"

"Yelling is venting!" I barked, still refusing to look at him.

"And apparently so it putting people down! Ever stop to wonder that maybe your overreacting? I know why you're angry and frankly you need to move on! She's dead, Jo, and there's absolutely nothing you can go about it! So quit feeling sorry for yourself and _grow_. **Up**!"

I visibly stiffened. Now that, _that_ hurt. And I was right: he had just exploited my weakness. "AT LEAST _BOTH_ MY PARENTS LOVED ME!"

Breaking into a sprint I turned the corner and disappeared from sight.

Cameron groaned, realizing what he had so freely let slip past his lips. "Great…"

A familiar voice squeaked out a remarked, "Uh, is this a bad time? We can just go…" Behind the boys were Mike and Zoey. The duo had arrived on time, per Jo's request from the previous afternoon, but clearly they walked in on something they could have gone without witnessing.

Cameron's tensed shoulders relaxed. "I messed up. Why don't you two come inside? May as well brief you on the whole downfall of this friendship…"

Zoey, Mike and Brick entered the room which was still dimly lit. Brick trekked over to the curtains and parted them, allowing the sunlight to flood in through the window. Zoey sat on Mike's lap, perching themselves on the chair in the corner. Cameron sat on Jo's unmade side of the bed, his expression wane. "Jo's a frustrating woman, let me tell you… Last night she had a nightmare; I don't know what it was about, but it must of scared the daylights out of her."

"Scared?" Brick echoed, plopping down on the rug.

"I woke up when I heard her shouting something. Something along the lines of… 'I said I was sorry'. At first I thought she was hurt, but when I went over she was sleeping." Cameron scratched the back of his head. "And then, only a few seconds later she woke up crying. It was one of those weird moments where you almost panic because you have no idea what's going on, so your instincts kick in. Except I don't have instincts, I tend to think thoroughly before making a decision-"

"Cam," Brick muttered, "Rambling."

"Sorry."

Mike sniggered. "Ha! Funny joke Cam. We all know Jo doesn't cry." Zoey elbowed him in the chest in turn. "Ow! What? I was just saying…"

Cameron continued, "This morning she just flipped out over nothing. She made her point pretty clear, though: she's afraid of letting anyone into her life. She doesn't seek sympathy, and I guess she's just terrified of getting hurt."

Zoey pointed to her cheek in reference to his own. "And that would be from…?"

"This falls somewhere in the storyline. Anyway, the point is that Jo's on a path to self-destruction and I have no idea how to help her."

"Just one more question…" Mike cut in with a slight roll of his wrist. "Who's this dead person you were yelling at her about?"

Cameron sighed, gripping his opposing arm. "Her mother. That was really low of me I know… and I feel awful about it. Now I have to find a way to apologize before she rings my neck! Not that she'll accept my apology, although it couldn't hurt to try. That metaphor isn't very accurate now that I think about it. I mean, attempting something for the first time could have painful results-"

Brick spoke up. "Cameron, rambling."

"Sorry."

"I'll talk to her," Zoey offered as she shot up to her feet, "Trust me, girls know how to connect. I'll get her to open up one way or another!" She marched for the door with her head held high, but Mike's eyes were obviously somewhere else. "If I'm not back soon assume that my body is at the bottom of the ocean! Bye boys!"

The door swung shut.

* * *

I was in no position to be running _anywhere_.

In fact, my last attempt at sprinting away from Cameron ended right at the elevator. My muscles, as sore as they were, wouldn't allow for any movements outside of a casual walk, so I settled for a stroll through town. I stuck to the roads I would be racing on later. First I passed a diner, then clothing stores, a pottery shop, an electronics store, a shop for beach wear and other items, a pet store, more clothing stores, a corner drug store, and finally everything dispersed into emptiness before merging into the back of the hotel.

I came back around to the meeting point to find Zoey poised on the bench, her legs crossed and arms holding each other. With a passive shrug I approached. "Hey."

"Hi Jo," she chimed, unfolding herself, "Cam told us what happened. I'm sorry."

"I don't want apologies," I retorted, starting past her, "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to continue my pathetic excuse for a workout."

I didn't make it more than several steps – Zoey's arms wrapped around my waist; her face pressed against my back, her grip tightened. There came a time when at any moment my reflexes would kick in and she would regret touching me, but this time around I let her embrace me.

"It's OK, Jo," she muttered, hugging me tighter, "You don't have to be afraid. I won't judge you, I won't mock you, I won't berate you. And if you don't want my sympathy that's OK, because I'm going to give it to you anyway."

I let her words sink in like a weight in quick sand. "Do you hate me?"

"No…" She admitted.

"What about the others?"

"No one hates you, Jo," she answered, the gentle timbre of her voice easing on my mind, "You chastise and you agitate us, you romp around freely and speak your thoughts the way some people don't have the courage to, you're tougher than nails and you call us insulting names as you see fit. But we don't hate you because of this. Cameron's scared of what could happen to you – he thinks you're on a self-destructive path and he doesn't want that for you."

Suddenly things clicked into place.

Cameron had experienced, first-hand, what could happen to someone who had to carry the weight of the world. His mother had been self-destructive, but I… I wasn't like that. No, I wasn't trying to destroy I was trying to prove myself! And anyone who strived for gold while refusing to settle for anything less knew that it was sometimes lonely up at the top.

I had come to terms with that.

_"Gold?" Jack questioned, glancing at his brother to his left. "That's your favorite color now? Not blue?"_

_"Yeah, why are you so surprised?" I decided that Dad's food was particularly grotesque today and pushed it in Jake's direction, hoping he'd enjoy it more than I did. "Gold is number one, numero uno, the best of the best! You can appreciate that logic, can't you?"_

_"I don't exactly have as many medals as you," he said matter-of-factly, also handing his plate over to his older twin. "Is it me, or is Dad getting worse?"_

_Jake shoveled the – well, I guess I could've called it oatmeal because that what it looked like – oatmeal into his mouth by the spoonful, disregarding all table manners in question. He swallowed, dryly. "I think Dad's food is good!"_

_"You can't taste it," I hissed, "You burned all your taste buds to oblivion when you were nine, remember?"_

_"Oh yeah…" He just continued eating. "Sometimes I forget!"_

_Jack glanced back at me. "Well, I think first place isn't what always counts. Silver is beautiful, bronze is shiny. I mean, what are you even trying to prove? You have enough awards to outlast the Olympics, your entire wardrobe consists of ninety-percent work out clothes, and your childhood hero is Rocky."_

_"And what exactly is your point?"_

_"Do something more lady-like…" He paused. "Like dancing. A lot of girls take dance lessons, I'm sure you'd make at least one friend!"_

_"I don't dance. And I do too have friends!"_

_"Really? Name two."_

_I hesitated. "You and Jake."_

_"We're your brothers, Jo"—"Unfortunately."—"we don't count. You know, people who care more about the gold than their quest on how they got there and the people who carried them through tend to realize that… well… it's very, very lonely up top."_

_I reclined in my chair. "I'm set with that. Lonely on my way up, lonely when I get there. Doesn't make a difference either which way."_

_"So you're content with lonely?"_

_His question took several moment to ponder. "Yeah," I answered finally, "I am content. No one will stop me, no one will get in my way."_

_"So then…" He stood, pushing out his chair with a screech against the tiled floor. "Why did you call those people?"_

_"Who, Cameron and Brick? I called them because I wanted their help for breaking the record!" Oh, great, I walked right into his trap. "…OK, fine, so I'm not totally content with being lonely on the way up! What's the big deal?"_

_Jake smirked. "Sounds to me like you're losing faith in your own capabilities."_

_Jack rolled his eyes. "That's not it either. Jo has perfect faith in herself. However, she knows that being lonely up top with a gold medal around your neck is content. Being happy, however, takes much more than just winning a race."_

_"It takes winning a _bunch_ of races!" Jake exclaimed, but Jack shook his head. "Oh, it takes… Pie! Pie fixes any situation! Hey, do we have pie?" He shot up, rifling through the fridge. "No, we don't have pie… Can we make some pie instead?"_

_Jack slapped his hand over his face. "ANYWAY, my point is that you may try to act tough, but really seek friendship just as much as the next guy. And to you, gold medals are just the thing you flash around in hopes that one day someone will look up to you."_

_I scoffed. "That's not it at all! I promised Mom I'd be the best, and that I would achieve anything I wanted without letting anyone stop me!"_

_Jack's expression fell like a cliff diver. "What is it that you want to achieve then? And I mean really, truly want to accomplish? I know you, Jolie. You get gold medals but you never seem pleased. You retain first but that victory is short-lived. There's something else you desire, I know there is."_

_I wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Gold medals are nice but… you mean like something more than just regular medals? You mean like Olympic gold medal?" He shrugged, but I knew what he was looking for. I was athletic, just like him, yes. I was strong, just like him, that too. But he was going to be a forensics analyst and help solve murders, not an all-star quarterback. "Oh, you mean a goal that doesn't just benefit me? Something like you're doing?"_

_"Sure, if that's what floats your boat."_

_"Then… I want to be remembered for something I did! People who come in first are always remembered for their accomplishments!"_

_"There, see? You don't want the gold for your own amusement, you want people to remember you for getting that gold when they didn't. That's why you tried out for Total Drama, right? So that when you won people would admire you for a job well done?"_

_I glanced up at him. "But I didn't win."_

_"No, no you didn't…" He gave me sideways stare. "But you didn't give up, did you? Now you're trying to break a world record. Why? So people can remember you."_

_"Hm, yeah but… What does any of this have to do with being lonely up top?"_

_"Because when you called Cameron and Brick, you chose them to be those hands that give you a boost up to the top. You didn't want to climb that ladder by yourself. Open yourself up to them, Jo, and you'll realize that the only thing stopping you is the thought of your own failure. You can't let a little feeling such as pain slow you down. When you get to the top, they'll be there to catch you on the way down, too, and things won't be so lonely..."_

"But…" I uttered, earning Zoey's attention, "what if I'm hurt?"

Zoey released me. "Uh, what was that Jo? Did I hurt you? I'm sorry!"

I glanced at her over my shoulder. "Oh, no, not you… I was just thinking about a little conversation I had with my brothers the day before I came here." The cell phone in my pocket buzzed, completely snapping me from my daze. Without even checking the caller I.D I answered. "Jo here."

_"Look up at the hotel, fourth row."_

I glanced up in Amber View's general direction, catching a glimpse of Cameron out on the balcony, his ear to the phone, and Brick at his side waving. "Hey, I see you guys!"

_"If I come down will you kill me?"_

"No."

_"And if I apologize? Even though you really don't want my sympathy…"_

I smiled, and clearly he noticed because he beamed right back. "I hate sympathy, but you're going to give it to me anyway so I'll accept it without complaint. Now get down here, we have to figure out plans for dinner tonight. Remember, I have to prove I'm fun?"

I heard Brick gasp from the other end of the line. _"I totally forgot!"_

Cameron rolled his eyes skyward. _"Alright, we have to figure ourselves out first. Why don't you and Zoey have a girl's day out or something?"_

"Oh, dandy, my favorite part of being a female." I faced Zoey who was staring at me intently. "Alright, I'll call you later."

_"And Jo?"_

"Yeah?"

I was expecting Cameron to suddenly rant on and on and on about how sorry he was until I either hung up or hung myself, but instead he merely chuckled. _"Brick thinks you should smile more often. He finds it attractive."_

_"I-I DO NOT! HE'S LYING!"_

I shut the phone more for Brick's sake than my own. "Hey, Red, you up for a girl's day out?"

"YES!" Zoey hooked her arm into mine. "You're the first person – besides my mom – to have ever asked! Oh, gosh, Jo! This is so exciting! I have my wallet and everything! We'll go shopping, and look at dresses, and get our hair done! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO COOL!"

And with that final statement, I knew I had made an _awful _mistake.

* * *

_A/N: I'm breaking everyone left and right. Now that Jo's finally being more open with the people she will soon call friends, will Brick be able to make his move? **HINT. HINT. **See that? I even bolded those hints for you. I made them EXTREMELY HINTABLE.  
And yes, everything's going to be happy for the next few chapters, I just had to cover a few characters and what makes them... er... them._


	6. Clockwork Hearts

**Please review, they make my day ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews so far, you guys are so awesome! And I received a lot of reviews last chapter, so I made this chapter extra-jocky.**

_Euregatto: Whoo! JOCK FOR THE WIN!  
Josh: Woah... where am I?  
Cameron: Uh, who's he?  
Euregatto: Josh Carter!  
Josh: Ashley? Shannon? Stan? Kenny? Where are my friends?  
Euregatto: I had to break a few universal laws of logic but now he's here!  
Cameron: He's not even relevant to the story!  
Euregatto: Your point?  
Cameron: *face palm*_

* * *

**Chapter 5: **Clockwork Hearts

* * *

Brick was starting to feel the symptoms of being a third wheel.

First of all, Cameron was digging up dirt on Jo's past (quite effectively, too) at the rate of a heartbeat. Secondly, Zoey had managed to get Jo to open up to them like a rose in the spring morning. Mike even had an important role on the record breaking team.

Brick? He just stood there awkwardly. Jo didn't actually need him for anything – clearly racing against the clock was enough of a push for her to try harder. That was supposed to be Brick's job! He was bested by a damn inanimate object! Seriously, what was he suppose to do? Cameron and Jo knew more about each other than Brick did the back of his hand; it was supposed to be the three of them, a trio working against the clock!

Zoey and Mike were more useful than he was.

He just did little things to get her to notice him: carrying her bridal style because she was in pain, executing her orders without so much as a single complaint, not speaking out so she wouldn't get annoyed with him. What did he have to do, beg, roll over, play fetch?

Come to think of it, he had always been trying to get Jo to notice him.

They had become rivals right off the bat during Total Drama, not that Brick minded, and progressively things had seemed to get… worse. At first they were friendly, then Jo failed to assert self-control more often than not, they switched teams – which only caused serious tension between the two (and possibly Lightning), and finally his Large and In Charge feat in the mines ended with his elimination.

Was she perhaps still angry about that?

His friends were in danger, he had to protect them. And he couldn't leave a man behind! It wasn't morally correct! Yet… Jo didn't appear to be upset with him when they were back at camp. In fact, she was ecstatic when he was catapulted off the island. "Traitor" she had called him, accusing him of stabbing his team in the back.

Yeah, she could still be angry with him.

Agitated, mostly with himself, maybe with her, and possibly even with everyone else on their team, Brick occupied himself with completely unpacking. He tossed his clothes into the dresser next to Cameron's.

If Jo was truly irritated with him, well, that was childish. That was a while ago! She had no right to be so pissed! Or… what if she wasn't the one who was angry, but rather, he was upset with himself? Maybe he had done, or said, or implied something that could have hurt her? No, he would never hurt her! He liked Jo. She was cool, strong, collected. Her eyes were the most unusual shade of purple, always so beautiful and intimidating. She was slender, her hour-glass frame ideal for supporting her muscular build.

Brick slapped himself – hard – across the face, earning a glance from Cameron. "No, do _not_ think like that! That's ridiculous!"

Cameron slipped out of his sweater before speaking, "Uh, Brick, are you alright?"

Brick exhaled a heavy sigh, allowing his forehead to slam into the upper drawer. The knock on the noggin had done it though: yes, it was official – he was, without a doubt, head over heels for Jolie Thompson. "I'm in love."

This time even Mike was intent. He laid his suit out on Jo's bed, separating the shirt from the jacket. "I know what it's like to be in love… Ah, yes, Zoey, the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on! Our children are going to be majestic!"

Cameron rolled his eyes. "You're a hopeless romantic, Mike. Anyway, good for you Brick!"

Brick groaned. "No, not good for me! I can't be in love, and especially not with…" He hesitated. "Especially not with someone who I _know _doesn't feel the same in return." He didn't even want to admit how suddenly the realization had hit him. There were other women out there – the girl he was friends with in high school, his neighbor who had a cute giggle and sparkling smile, that other girl who always had her hair in a braid and worked in the library.

No, it had to be Jo. Independent, outspoken, irksome**_ Jo_**.

Mike grinned down at his outfit. "We're not supposed to be too fancy, right? Yeah, no jacket." He tossed the thing aside. "There, style coordinated!"

For a moment Brick wondered what Jo would wear – maybe a dress. It wouldn't be long, probably knee length, and she would look absolutely gorgeous in purple. He drew a small, black box out from his bag, flipping it open to view the contents over. _I got her this since it was on sale… but what if she doesn't like it? And how come I didn't think of this before?_

Brick wondered if this dinner really was such a good idea.

* * *

Zoey was a nutcase.

Or so she appeared to be, but anyone who could obsesses over obviously girly things had PSYCHO stamped onto their forehead in thick black letters every time I spared them a glance. Zoey had dragged me all over town – two hours went to clothes shopping, one hour went to shoe shopping, one hour was wasted on lunch, another two hours on getting our hair trimmed and straightened, and then one-and-a-half hours went to – you guessed it, maybe – touch ups.

I was even, somehow (it involved something along the lines of… jeez, I couldn't even remember now!), talked into _getting_ _my ears pierced_. Worst. Decision._ Ever_. (Next to actually tagging along on this adventure in the first place, of course.)

I was also convinced to then wear diamond studs for earrings.

_What in the hell compelled me to get my ears pierced for a stupid dinner? You deserve everything that comes your way, Jo._

We returned to Zoey's room with bags in hand – Zoey with about seven more than me, surprise surprise – and tried out our new outfits.

My attempt at appearing feminine was nothing more than a violet, sleeveless top and silky black pants. It wasn't much of an appearance change… at all, but at least I wasn't being forced to wear whatever Zoey had just put on: the other girl wore a short, crimson cocktail dress and black heels. Her hair was out, allowing wisps of vermillion tresses to curl against the nape of her neck, but one side of her bangs were kept back by her flower clip. She had pink lipstick but red eye shadow.

"So, tell me, how do I look?"

I wanted to vomit red there was so much damn red. "Uh… perhaps a little too nice since it's just a dance." Zoey cocked her head, staring at me expectantly. "Never mind. You look great."

"Aw, thanks Jo! Are you sure you don't want even a little bit of blush?"

"No. I already went through the agony of getting diamond studs in my ears which are now very, _very_ sore. Please, spare me."

She grinned. "Not even a little to impress Brick?"

I flushed in response to the comment. "What would ever make you think I would _want_ to impress _Bricks for Brains?_"

Zoey seemed skeptical of my denial. I hadn't ever once thought about doing anything to impress him! …OK, yeah, that's a total lie but… "Jo, this is Brick we're talking about. He likes you. It was blatantly obvious back on the Island."

"That's absolute bull-!" My head snapped around when the door to the room swung open.

Mike appeared in the threshold. "Hey, you girls rea – Why hello Beautiful."

Zoey giggled and blushed (not that I could tell with ALL THAT DAMN RED). "Hi Mike. Yeah, we're ready to go." He hooked her arm into his and they strode past Brick and Cameron.

Cameron was overdressed in a blue suit and matching tie. Brick was just a black muscle shirt tucked into dress pants kept around his waist by a brown belt.

Brick glanced at me expectantly. I noticed that his fingers were drumming together, a little something he had done back on the Island before asking me a question. "Uh… Jo… would you like to be my date for tonight?"

"This isn't a double date Brickhouse."

"Oh…" He dropped his head in shame. "I'll assume that's a no…"

Cameron grabbed me by the elbow. "Come on Jo, act like a girl for once! You look lovely." I frowned at his remark – I could act like a girl if I wanted to. I endured getting my ears pierced for crying out loud! Cameron droned on, "Now come on, it's only for a few hours!"

I sighed, pulling out of his grasp. "Fine, fine… Only a few hours, I can live with that."

As we passed out the door I took Brick's arm in mine. "And yes, I'll be your date."

That response had clearly made his day.

* * *

Cameron had reserved a quiet corner table just for us where we were close to the stage but out of everyone's way. Couples were already out on the dance floor, swaying to the gentle music originating from the band on stage.

Mike and Zoey didn't even sit down – he coaxed her into dancing with him. Cameron just shrugged and perched in a seat, content with watching the scene unfold before him.

Brick seemed to pick up on it. "Jo… Would you like to dance with me?"

I quirked my eyebrow. "I thought we concluded that I _had_ to dance with you anyway to prove that I'm fun?" He drummed his fingers together again. "OK, OK Brickhouse… Don't have a hernia."

He took my hand and led me out into the center of the floor. The lights were brighter here, yet still dim. I took his shoulder, he gripped my hip. Gradually we moved – him leading me almost like he had done this with multiple girls before. I didn't doubt it, I mean, he was a handsome hunk of meat… _really_ handsome come to think of it…

_I did not just say that._

There were features about Brick I hadn't noticed before: his lips were thin, a little on the dryer side; his eyes were dark and unsteady, almost like he was trying to decipher a coded letter but didn't read the words in order; his grip was strong even though it was gentle. He grasped my waist firmly, never daring to stray any lower (unfortunately inner me probably wouldn't mind the contact) or higher.

I felt the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

_Brick's probably a good kisser. Wait, woah, easy there tiger…_

It wasn't a temptation I hadn't felt before, though. Middle school brought about a crush: a boy named Tyler, his hair black as night and his eyes green as ivy vines. He was cute, yes, lean with decent cheek bones, but after a while I decided that his supposed 'harmless pranks' weren't going to get him anything in life other than a frequent pair of handcuffs. In high school there were Henry and Brice. Henry I quickly gave up on because he was the most popular kid in around, which also brought about a cocky attitude I couldn't tolerate after a few weeks. Brice was the guy with the gorgeous abs and sexy voice – at first I thought he liked me back when he said he wanted to be friends, but friends don't fail to acknowledge each other in front of the 'cool' kids.

Now there was Brick. I couldn't tell if what I felt towards him was childish affection or admiration, maybe both, but at least he accepted me as a rival… and a friend. And if Zoey said was true – not that she'd ever lie to me, although she could have interpreted the situation wrong – then Brick seemed to have a… uh… _fondness _for me.

Wow, this trip was pitching a lot of firsts in my direction.

I leaned my head into his shoulder. His heart was strong, too, I could hear it through his bones; it drummed at a steady rhythm, almost like it was trained to march in formation just as Brick had been. This guy was just too perfect –ok, the whole bladder-control issue was something to be… _overlooked_ – I'm sure his parents were beyond proud.

I, however, was a Grade-A bitch. Clearly Brick didn't deserve me… Zoey had to have misinterpreted; no one, especially not Brick, was stupid enough to fall for someone like me…

…_right?_

"Are you OK?"

I was snapped out of my thoughts, realizing that I had been staring off into space. My gaze locked with his when I leaned back. "I was thinking, sorry. Tell me… uh… how have you been lately?"

"I'm in a bit of a dilemma," he admitted over a sigh, "I have a friend: she doesn't realize just how wonderful of a person she is, and I feel like I'm nothing more to her than a roadblock. And I really, _really _like her… I'm afraid of telling her about my feelings out of fear that she'll reject me."

My heart raced.

I smirked gamely. "I have a friend, too. He's handsome and straight forward. We rival a lot, and even though he considers himself a roadblock he's actually a great friend. I love being around him… even if he isn't very discreet."

Brick flushed. "I was hoping you wouldn't catch on…"

"Nothing flies under my radar, Brickhouse."

He leaned forward so his lips brushed my ear; his heated breath tickled against my flesh, sending the blood straight to my cheeks. "So I have permission to kiss you then, Ma'am?"

The question – or request – was sudden. My mind couldn't handle it: Zoey was right, I was panicking, Brick wanted to kiss me, the lights were blinding and the music had fallen in tempo. The moment was surreal… I took several seconds to catch up on the situation, to ponder my options; what if Brick was just a tease, what if he was going to hurt me, what if my family didn't approve? Would this even –

_Who cares?_

"Make it good."

He brushed his lips against mine. "Yes, ma'am…"

A sudden blaring voice caught us off guard. "AND NOW LADIES AND GENTLEMEN THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! IT'S COUPLE'S NIGHT! SO THAT MEANS WE WILL PICK FROM THE CROWD THE PEOPLE WE FIND TO BE THE BEST COUPLES AND YOU WILL HAVE A DANCE ALL TO YOURSELVES!"

"Couple's night?" I echoed, annoyed, "I hope _we_ don't get picked. I am NOT dancing like an idiot in front of these people…"

The spotlight traveled around the intent crowd who formed an opening near the front of the stage, sailing along like liquid water on a slope. Finally it stopped. "WE HAVE OUR FIRST COUPLE!" Mike and Zoey pushed through the onlookers, taking a spot out in the clearing. Well, better them than us. "AND NOW LET'S LOOK FOR OUR SECOND COUPLE!"

I dragged Brick away from the scene, storming towards the table where Cameron sat with a bemused smirk on his face. "I refuse to partake in a stupid dance!"

Brick chuckled. "It's not a big deal, Jo. What are the odds we'll get chosen, anyway?"

Without warning I bumped into someone. "Hey!" I snapped, "Watch where you're going!" I couldn't tell who it was because he had his back to me, but the next thing I knew the spotlight was on us. No, not Brick and me, _that guy _and me.

"WE HAVE OUR SECOND COUPLE!"

The guy whipped around – and just like that my world fell apart. "_Sha-huh_? Why's the light on Lightning? Did he win somethin'?"

I slapped my hand over my face. "Yeah, you earned yourself a dance with me."

* * *

_ Special thanks: Idea of a couple's challenge by AlwaysAshlyn. Thanks for that :D_


	7. Dinner Date Disasters

**Please review, they make my day ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews so far, you guys are so awesome!  
**_BTW, I didn't mention last chapter, but Josh is from my favorite video game ObsCure. I just decided to throw him in here for a few chapters to entertain Cameron.  
Also, sorry for the delay, very VERY busy..._

_Cameron: *reading the note above* So let me get this straight... you decided it would be a swell idea to warp Josh out of your favorite video game and into the commentary?  
Euregatto: ...Yes.  
Cameron: He needs to go back to the game.  
Josh: Ashley will wonder where I went...  
Cameron: Can't you just get Jo or Brick or even Lightning up here instead? At least make our guest relevant to the story!  
Euregatto: Jo refused, she also wouldn't let Brick participate, and I'm not asking Lightning; I couldn't find Zoey or Mike either so...  
Cameron: *sigh* This is why you shouldn't be allowed to add a commentary...  
Euregatto: Are you kidding? Everyone loves commentaries!  
Josh: I can tell this argument is going to escalate, so let's move on with the story._

* * *

**Chapter 6:** Dinner Date Disasters

* * *

There were two things the Lightning did. _Not_. do under any circumstances unless he was charming a lady – 1) dance, although he had to admit he did have some impressive moves, and 2) eat out at fancy restaurants. He was convinced that both of those activities were borderline _sha-lame _and that real didn't dance. I mean, have you seen his muscles lately? He was single handedly capable of taking his team all the way to the finals! Perfection such as himself was not to be wasted on dancing.

However, the coach had insisted they celebrate with dinner in the hotel's restaurant… And whatever the coach said, went.

Oh, yeah, there was a third thing Lightning refused to do – 3) dress up. Suits were uncomfortable, especially this one, although it did define his shoulder tone very well. And the tie had this neat silver and blue pattern on it, even though he did prefer purple and white, his team colors-

…And this was why he never liked to do anything outside of throwing a football. Because then he would become a brainwashed member of society… Wait, what if he really was brainwashed? He wouldn't know! How could he tell? What if he was the only one still with a conscious? Would the system try to kill him and this would turn into a scene from those action movies his brother liked to watch all the time?

He forgot all about his worries when his table was presented with several plates of steak.

"Protein!" He exclaimed, claiming one for himself. "Now that's what Lightning likes!" Brainwashed or not, meat was meat and such a beautiful cut would not go a single moment without being savored. By savored he meant wolfed down. But at least it was going to a wonderful place for a just cause.

Lightning wasn't sure what, within that next moment, caused him to glance up so suddenly from his plate of Heaven, but he did. And sure enough, there was Jo in his line of sight, her gaze focused on Pipsqueak who was mentioning something about a reserved table. She looked especially… pretty this evening. That was a weird accomplishment for someone like Jo who Lightning had mistaken for a boy for the longest while.

Irking Jo on agitated her, much to Lightning's personal amusement, and her boiling point rose quicker when he mistook her for a male. However, he had accepted the harsh reality of his mistake on the Island… but that brought about a surge of emotions Lightning couldn't comprehend.

He figured it had something to do with the fact that he had a thing for athletic girls. Back in his home town he had dated four girls, two of whom weren't into sports so they couldn't stand listening to him ramble about his victories and trophies. One girl played soccer, although she wasn't too fond of Lightning's boisterous attitude. And then there was his last girlfriend who ran Cross Country and attended his games. She tried to turn him into a vegetarian though, and he simply wouldn't have it. Come on, Lightning needed his protein if he wanted to look good!

Speaking of looking good, this steak was awfully unappealing tonight…

Jo was exactly the girl he had always wanted to meet – she was strong, athletic, even mentioned once that she enjoyed watching football with her family. Her eyes were purple, too, like a really nice shade of violet. The same as his team colors! And when she wasn't wearing her typical outfit you could indulge in her figure. If Jo tried to act like less of a man she could easily pull off to be the most sought out girl in the area.

Lightning sighed under his breath, wedging a bite of meat between his lips.

Why was he thinking like that? I mean, it's _JO_. They hated each other – well, Lightning didn't _hate_ anyone since his Mama taught him from an early age that hate was a strong word, but Jo certainly made it clear that he resided on her bad side forever and for always – since getting teamed up together back on _Total Drama_. And until her elimination he was convinced that she had been as _guy _as a guy could get. Finding out she was a female… that ignited a spark or two.

Lightning realized that he wasn't very interested in his steak anymore.

"Lightning's gonna go rock the dance floor!" He declared to his team. They ignored him, too busy stuffing their faces to acknowledge his statement. Lightning returned the same level of care with a scowl and moved somewhere else just as the announcer on stage started up with a sudden exclamation about… well, Lightning didn't care, he was just focused on finding Jo.

He was certain now – Jo was everything he had ever wanted, and he was going to make her his.

His coach shouted something at him and he faced the elder man. "Yeah Coach?" A person bumped into from behind, but he paid them no mind. He was too enveloped in trying to figure out what the coach was saying. Something about finishing his steak? Then, the spotlight fell on him. The only time he could recall having the light shine solely on him was when he won last year's championship. Ha… good times. "_Sha-huh_? Why's the light on Lightning? Did he win somethin'?"

"Yeah, you earned yourself a dance with me."

Lightning whirled around, a bleak smile spreading across his expression. "Jo!"

He was going to make Jo his… and what better place to start than with a dance?

* * *

Lightning grabbed me by my wrists and towed me over to the dance floor. His sudden surge of willingness was something to be concerned about – high-and-mighty Lightning was actually eager to dance… with _me _none-the-less. I figured he would run off to his teammates screaming bloody murder (alas I was thoroughly disappointed).

I glanced at Brick was a pleading gaze, almost like I was begging for a full-blown rescue, mouthing _HELP ME_.

Lightning whipped me out into the center circle, taking my hand in his and placing the other firmly on my waist. "Fancy meeting you under these conditions. Lightning didn't take you to be the party gal."

My glare narrowed incredulously. "Oh, so now I'm a girl again?"

"Well of course. Lightning thinks you're a beautiful one at that. _Sha-smooth!_" I rolled my eyes towards the ceiling as the song from the stage started up. Lightning lead me in a type of figure-eight patterned dance that involved too many steps for me to count and too much movement for my still-tense muscles to handle. He smirked at me broadly, one eyebrow peaking in synch with the corner of the adjacent lip to form his trademark smug expression. "Lightning likes your eyes."

I finally sighed, "Are you drunk?"

"Lightning's drunk with love!"

The scariest part of that statement was that he didn't smell like alcohol – only oranges. Why the hell did Lightning smell like a fruit? My least favorite kind, at that. I was expecting him to reek of grass stains and half a bottle of cheap cologne… but _oranges_? That was a break through. Regardless, fruit or not, there was another important matter that I needed to dwell on… **_LIGHTNING JUST ADMITTED HE WAS IN LOVE WITH ME._**

Where was this coming from all of sudden? This guy must've been dropped on his head one too many times. Unless, of course, his parents found it more amusing to chuck him down the steps… No, Lightning was an idiot but he wasn't a _complete_ idiot. He knew full-well I despised his very existence with an intensity fueled by the sun. This was just some kind of sick joke!

Suddenly the announcer's voice echoed into the room, "SWITCH PARTNERS!"

I was tossed in a semi-circle and found myself latching onto Mike so I wouldn't trip like a clumsy Lindsay clone. He pulled me upright and dragged me along with the tempo. "Oh, uh, hey there Jo! Enjoying yourself?"

I straightened to avoid looking like such an awful dancer even my form was off. "Everything's just dandy, Mike."

"I can tell there's something wrong – you didn't call me Pointy."

Wow, some people just didn't miss a beat. "Lightning said he was in love with me."

"And that's where I question my own sanity." Mike slowed the movements much to my muscles' appeasement. He cast a stare over my shoulder to Lightning who was now swinging (less exuberantly might I add) with the third couple's wife. "He has to be joking."

"I don't think he is," I inquired, "and he isn't drunk."

"That's terrifying. Did you tell him off?"

"Dude, I'm still too stunned to think straight." I spun under Mike's arm in synch with the music when he made the gesture, returning to my original position two turns later. "Anyway, when I was on a team with Lightning we learned a few things about each other – what Jockstrap wants Jockstrap gets and he will take down everyone in his path if he has to. If he really isn't into me and this is just to coax me into kicking his face in the dirt then that'd be a relief… but…"

"If it's not we have a problem," Mike supplied, glancing at Lightning again.

"SWITCH PARTNERS!"

I wound up in the arms of a weird stranger I said next to nothing too him. He wasn't the greatest dancer on the face of the planet, either, so I was in the lead for once, but my glare remained peeled on Lightning who was making small talk with Zoey. The next time the announcer had us rotate I was back with Lightning.

He allowed a smirk to return to his features. "Back in Lightning's arms already?"

"I will floor you," I hissed into his ear.

The song reached the peak of its climax – Lightning twirled me around and dipped me like the end to a Tango, leaving the tips of my hair to brush against the floor like spider legs. He raised his eyebrow again. "Lightning looks forward to it."

With that the song faded into oblivion. He let me stand upright again, snapping me out of my daze – but when I finally gathered enough wits to punch him in the face he had slipped off into the crowd, sliding into the darkness of the restaurant. Brick approached me with a slightly blank look across his face. "Hey, Jo, sorry, Cameron forgot something in the hotel room so I went with him to get it. Missed the dance, but did you have fun?"

He missed the dance… which meant he didn't see me with Lightning. Great, how was I going to explain this?

"Uh… tons. Give me a sec." I stormed up to Mike and Zoey shambling back towards the table and snagged them by their collars. "Borrowing you two for a minute."

Zoey smiled. "OK! …Wait, what for-?"

I towed them out of the restaurant, away from the bustling crowds and out to the lobby. It was vacant of any visitors at this hour and only consisted of other partiers. We perched on the empty sofa; I swung one leg over the other and crossed my arms. Oh, wonderful now I was even _sitting_ like a woman too. My brothers were going to have an actual little sister for the first time in ten years! They were sure going to get a kick out of this.

"What's wrong?" Zoey questioned, "Is it about Lightning? Mike told me he was being creepy."

"He must've suffered a concussion from too much Football!" I snapped, throwing my hands in the air. "Jockstrap has it through his thick skull that I'm his one true love!"

Mike frowned. "And you want us to do something about it?"

I leaned by head back onto the rest and rapped my fingers on my upper lip. _Great, my hand smells like oranges now._ "Yeah, if you see Fizzle wandering around here divert him away from me. If he tries to make a _single_ romantic comment I'm going to eat my own heart out!"

Mike stood, brushing lint from his pants. "I should probably inform Brick and Cam about this."

I wafted my hand at him. "Whatever. I need a few minutes to cool down."

Zoey pat my knee reassuringly and took Mike's arm, allowing him to guide her back toward the restaurant. I was content with sitting in the lobby waiting for the night to pass me by as it tended to always do. Yes, just me, and this sofa. And the silence around my stilling form. It was relaxing; easing on my strained muscles –

"_Jo_?"

_For the love of – who could it be NOW?_

At first I didn't realize that the exclamation was directed at me. But then it dawned on me – I recognized that voice; it was candidly surprised with a tipped accent, but none the less familiar. I knew that tone better than the back of my own hand. I could also detect cherries, burnt extensions and hair spray lingering in the air like a faint musk after a rainstorm. I picked my head up to get a better look at the figure hovering over me now.

"Anne-Maria? What are you doing here?"

"My aunt manages this hotel!" She informed me, her smile lingering. "What's goin' on? You look like less of a man with that attire. After the last fashion fiasco on that stupid Island I figured you would've quit style for life."

I rolled my eyes. "Says the girl without style period."

"Ay, you wanna go? 'Cause I'm ready for ya Blondie!"

I paused – my nightmare hit me again, rebounding off the walls of my mind. _Anne-Maria cackled. "What a loser! She's so ugly! Under all the make-up there's just a soft little girl who will never get a real boyfriend! She's useless so she's instantly not worth the time or effort we've put into her." _I couldn't judge for sure if that was truly how Anne-Maria felt, but… well, that was a while ago. The show was over and we were no longer competing for money or fame or glory.

"Anne-Maria," I started, swinging to my feet, "I'm with some of the others inside. Would you like to come to dinner?"

She squinted like I was nothing more than a blurred object in her line of sight. "I've got to be hallucinatin'. Are you really Jo? 'Cause the jock-ette I know ain't nice enough to spontaneously ask me to join her for dinner!"

"It's either yes or no."

Anne-Maria checked her phone. From my angle I could see that she had fourteen missed calls and another twenty missed text messages; she ignored them, though, much to my immediate surprise. I was more stunned over the fact that she could actually bypass those distractions without a care in the world. She seemed to have… a lot of friends. "Yeah, I've got time before my shift."

I titled my head. "Shift?"

"I work evenin' hours for my aunt in exchange for stayin' in a room for free." She whipped out her hair spray and blasted her weave with enough water-proof solution to deplete ocean levels. I wafted the cloud from my face. "Been helpin' out more too with the whole show goin' on soon. Y'know, the contest!" She exchanged the can for a flyer that had been stuffed into her back pocket. "My job's gonna be to work back stage during the performance so everythin' goes accordin' to plan."

I nodded slightly. "Uh-huh… Well, I'm entering. That's why I'm here."

"I'm not surprised. Anyway, what do you say to that dinner now? I'm in the mood for the salad special!" She rambled on as we walked back towards the restaurant. "This month it comes with this home-made Hawaiian-themed dressin' and orange slices. I simply love oranges!"

I was abruptly reminded of Lightning.

And just when I thought that this trip was already teetering on the verge of self-destruction…

I escorted Anne-Maria over to our table and pulled up an additional chair so she could settle herself between me and Mike. "I found Anne-Maria!" I declared, much to her own amusement. I sat next to Cameron, giving myself an angle across from Brick and Zoey.

"It's a Maggot reunion!" Zoey announced. I hadn't noticed it at first – but she was right. We were all the original Mutant Maggots, sitting together as we had done during the first week of _Total Drama_ prior to the collapsing framework of the group (I mostly blamed myself for pushing them too hard… and constantly volunteering because my ego was the size of Texas).

…OK, if this wasn't some extreme case of karma I didn't know what was!

Anne-Maria dipped right into conversing with Mike and Zoey about her time following the Island and I took the opportunity to duck my face into a menu. I wasn't interested in eating right now. Cameron leaned towards me, "Are you alright? Mike told us about the Lightning issue."

"I'm fine," I deluded, "It's just a typical boy phase." Brick's lips pressed into a thin line, an expression I recognized as him thinking about what to say without wording it wrong. I forced a smile after a failed attempt that only came out as a twitch. "It's OK Brickhouse, the situation doesn't bother me. Lightning won't stop my conquest to achieving number one! It'll all clear up when he gives himself another concussion."

Brick exhaled a sigh of relief. "As long as you're happy."

I set my menu down and scanned the table. _Happy, huh?_ Maybe my brother had been right along – maybe I didn't have to be so lonely at the top… Brick liked me; I now had a solid circle of friends for the first time in my life…

_However…_

There was still that promise I had made to my mother. What if I had to give all this up to win the gold? What if I had to break them all to achieve my goals? What if I was forced to render them useless so I could climb one more step up the ladder? These were things I once wouldn't have a problem with – screw everyone else, it was all about me. Because I could only ever care for me. There was once a time when I would pride myself in crushing them like ants.

Not anymore. Now, even after such a short time together, I don't think I could accept living with myself if I didn't have them.

The realization that I had allowed myself to become so soft, though… that was what scared me the most.


	8. NOTE

_******I'm leaving.**_

I love fanfiction and all, but I really don't have any more time to keep up with all my updates... I think I'm going to publish one last story as my last hoorah, but I don't know where it's going to go from there. I might return, I might not.

A lot has been happening lately, and it's all too much to handle when I also have to update fanfics... I want to focus on real world things that will affect me directly in my life. I'm sorry. I'm so very, very sorry.

Thank you to my readers, for being there no matter what.

Thank you to my reviewers, who gave the motivation to keep trying to the very end.

Thank you to all the friends I have made on here, for being so awesome and wonderful to me. I will still check my messages if you want to talk.

Thank you Fanfiction, for being the biggest influence of my life and transforming me into a great writer.

_**As a parting gift: **If you want to now how any of my unfinished fanfics end, just ask me._

**I'm sorry,**

_~Euregatto_


	9. Note 2

_Dear readers..._

I have two important announcements I forgot to include in the last note.

I figured that it would be unfair if I left Fanfiction without a farewell story... so I'm here to promote my final publish, a BLEACH fic called "Because the Sky is There." If you're interested you should look at it and see if you're up for reading it or not.

Also, I've been having problems with people sharing the ending of my stories without my permission. Don't do it. Why? Because if I do come back I'll plan on finishing what I've started, and I may or may not end up changing all of my stories' endings. I'm still willing to tell you how its supposed to end, but it isn't a finalized, solid ending.

So again, thank you for taking the time to read and review all my stories, you guys are the greatest fans I could have ever hoped for.

Sincerely,

**Euregatto**


End file.
